Page 19 - GIC Manifesto.m

“Over my dead body will a wall be built. The people of the Tohono O’odham Nation

have always been against a wall. It's like me going into your home and saying, 'You

know what? I believe in order to protect your house we need some adjusting.' Let

me come into your home and build a wall directly in the middle of your house and

tell me what impacts that would have on you? This land is sacred. Every living thing

has a story and each story comes with a teaching. This land is our grocery store;

this land is our medical facility, where we get our medicinal remedies from; this

land is our college and university. Our sacred sites are in Mexico; our ceremonies are

in what is now Mexico. The division of O’odham lands has resulted in an artificial

division of O’odham society. The border is an imaginary line to us.”

Vice Chairman Vernon M. Jose,

Tohono O’odham Nation.